


In Your Veins

by General_Button



Series: In Your Nature [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Mpreg, Peak Romance, Possessive Behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-11-27 10:56:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18193673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/General_Button/pseuds/General_Button
Summary: Any sane person would see what danger messing around with another alpha—let alone an alpha without a pack—could bring, and they would stop upon realizing this.Shiro does not stop seeing Sendak.It’s Sendak’s fault, really. He's the one to visit the grounds where he knows Shiro will be running patrol, and he’s the one that brings him acasserole,of all things.





	1. Finding Out

**Author's Note:**

> A very self-indulgent piece by me. Hope you enjoy! This is the direct sequel to _In Your Nature_ , so read that first!

Talking to his pack goes about as well as Shiro expects.

First and foremost, they’re concerned about him. Allura nearly throws a fit when she first smells Shiro, assuming he _is_ the alpha, but once they see his disheveled appearance, it clicks into place.

They think he got into a fight with the alpha, which he doesn’t necessary try to dissuade them of. It’s more convenient than the truth, and Shiro doesn’t technically admit to anything that could be construed as a lie.

“I’m fine,” he keeps saying. He exposes his throat to Keith, who shoves himself into Shiro’s space and starts scenting him, one of the first to do so for their pack scenting session. Thanks to his positioning, there isn’t a lot of room. His legs are hanging over Hunk’s on one of the comfier couches, and Lance in lying in his lap. Behind him, Allura is sitting on top of the couch, leaning against the wall, with Shiro lying in between her legs. She’s carding her fingers through his hair slowly.

She’s been silent for most of the exchange, which make Shiro nervous.

“Hey!” Lance calls, pushing at Keith with his hand. “Move your leg! You’re crushing me.”

“Then give me more space,” Keith replies evenly, but he removes regardless and settles more comfortably at Shiro’s side.

Not a lot of talking happens. They’re eager to rub Shiro in all their scents until he’s ceased smelling like the alpha, and the entire time Shiro keeps wishing he could somehow have both. His pack makes him happy, but the alpha…

He shudders.

“Cold?” Pidge asks. She’s just come back from fetching one of their communal blankets, and Shiro nods, just to be safe. As she lays the blanket across his body (covering Lance in the process), he thinks about the blanket lying in the back of his closet.

* * *

Any sane person would see what danger messing around with another alpha—let alone an alpha without a pack—could bring, and they would stop upon realizing this.

Shiro does not stop seeing Sendak.

It’s Sendak’s fault, really. He's the one to visit the grounds where he knows Shiro will be running patrol, and he’s the one that brings him a _casserole,_ of all things.

It’s so out of character that Shiro immediately forgets whatever he was planning on saying and stares at the container in his hands. It’s covered with aluminum foil.

“What is that?” Shiro asks.

“A casserole.”

“What kind is it?”

“Cauliflower rice, vegetables, and cheese.”

“You made me a healthy casserole?” Shiro takes it out of his hands when he offers it, and he’s surprised to find it’s still warm. “You _just_ made this?”

Sendak says nothing, staring Shiro down.

“You know if you’re trying to court me, you have to speak to me,” Shiro teases. He lifts the foil and peeks inside; it smells good. Shiro’s wolf loves raw meat and all its products, but Shiro himself is a big fan of vegetables. He works out; he likes to keep healthy. “Wow. That smells delicious. Where did you make this?”

“In my apartment,” Sendak replies. He smirks at Shiro’s look. “What, did you assume I had no home?”

For some reason, yes. He doesn’t say that, though.

“No, of course not! I just…didn’t think about it. You’re kind of an enigma around here.”

“You can see it for yourself,” he says smoothly. It’s as good an invitation as any, and Shiro hesitates, but only just.

“Soon,” he says, instead of never, because he knows himself too well.

* * *

 

Over the next for weeks, Shiro starts visiting Sendak.

He does it sparingly, to where it appears to his own pack that the scent is lingering, or Sendak has shown his face. Each time Shiro finds some workaround to lie; after all, it’s not like he can tell that he’s seeing another alpha. They wouldn’t _understand._ Hell, Shiro hardly understands what draws him to Sendak.

Maybe it’s the fact that he was interested in Shiro at all. Maybe it’s because he’s an alpha.

The visits start out short—just a quick moment here and there, and then they get longer.

The times that they do see each other, they have a _lot_ of sex.

For all that he appears to be the stereotypical aggressive pack alpha, Sendak is a considerate lover. He always makes sure that Shiro comes first, and even though he likes having Shiro presented on his hands and knees, he never forces him into a position he doesn’t like.

“Fuck,” Shiro pants, his legs trembling as he uses Sendak’s shoulders to pull himself up and off his cock again. He’s been riding Sendak for thirty minutes now. It’s a record as far as their sex usually goes—neither of them are good at restraining themselves—and it’s happening because Sendak challenged him to make himself come on his cock alone. Shiro liked the idea, even if in practice it isn’t that easy.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Shiro manages, his breath sliding into a long groan as he seats himself on Sendak’s cock again. His own dick is flushed painfully red, and the underside is slick with precome. “Oh my god, my legs are so sore. And I’m _so_ close.”

“You can do it,” Sendak says, laying his hands on Shiro’s hips. “A little more and you’ll surely come.”

He’s been holding onto him on and off, teasing Shiro with the scrape of a claw on his ass or his thighs, leaving tingling sensations behind. When Shiro lowers himself again with a low, plaintive groan, Sendak leans forward, takes his nipple into his mouth, and sucks.

“Oh my god oh my _god._ ” Shiro shudders, twitching. “That feels—so fucking good.” He works himself on Sendak’s cock, trying to chase the arousal while its building. His voice shoots up an octave as Sendak rolls his tongue over his nipple, tugging on it with his teeth, and then his big hands are back on Shiro’s ass, helping yank him down on his cock.

It does a lot more for Shiro’s imminent orgasm than anything he was trying before. He loves when Sendak manhandles him, and he barely makes it another minute before his voice breaks and he comes, his cock spurting weakly between them.

Shiro pants for a long time after, just trying to catch his breath. He leans his head on Sendak’s shoulder, murmuring a weak protest when Sendak fists his cock, making sure he’s been wrung out dry.

“Can’t believe I did it,” he says wearily.” I can never manage that on my own.”

“I am going to pleasure myself now,” Sendak says, releasing his cock. He smooths his palm over Shiro’s hip. “You may remain as you are.”

What he means is ‘I’m going to use you to get off, so don’t worry about doing any more work’.

Shiro wraps his arms around his neck and closes his eyes, enjoying the way Sendak starts fucking him; the position doesn’t lend itself to doing it well, but he manages short, sharp thrusts of his cock, growling in Shiro’s ear until he finally comes with a few harsh grunts.

Shiro hums, shifting a little as Sendak comes inside him. They started with condoms, but since neither of them can contract STDS, they stopped bothering pretty quickly.

“I need to go soon,” Shiro says, once Sendak’s breathing has evened out. “I told them I was going to the grocery store. I’ll say I met you there.”

“You should stay,” Sendak rumbles. He noses Shiro’s throat. “Build out a nest here. With me.”

Shiro sighs. “I can’t. I kept the blanket, but I shouldn’t have even done that. I shouldn’t really be doing any of this. Allura has a right to be angry with me for defying the pack.”

“It’s not as if I have a pack,” Sendak points out. “Why should it matter?”

“How have you survived this long without a pack? Where are you from?”

Sendak blinks at him, hesitating long enough that Shiro assumes there must be a story.

“I had a pack, once,” he says. “When I was young.”

“Galra?”

“Of course.”

It’s hardly an answer.

“Then why did you leave?” Shiro presses.

Sendak is silent for a long time before he answers.

“At the time I did not know I was an alpha. I was convinced to leave my pack to join another by a man named Zarkon. When I arrived, I was rejected upon my arrival. I have been alone since.”

He shrugs. Shiro frowns, reaching up to cup the side of his face.

“You were alone for that long?”

“A pack is not necessary,” Sendak says, so easily that Shiro expects he’s repeated it to himself dozens of times. “When I saw you, I made my decision not for the good of a ‘pack’ but because it was what _I_ wanted.”

Shiro has words in response, but he holds back, instead gingerly rising from Sendak’s lap, grimacing when he feels come start to trickle down his leg.

“Well, I’d better go. I’ll see you sometime later, but it might be a while. We’re going hunting later—stretching our wolf legs and all that. There are some hunting grounds in the next state over that are safe for us.”

“You have quite a large network,” Sendak observes.

“The Alteans have a lot of packs across the midwest and up the East coast. Allura is the daughter of one of the oldest packs, so she has a lot of sway.”

“She’s rather small for an alpha.”

“Hey.” Shiro smacks Sendak’s shoulder. His ears flick and twitch, and Shiro has to remind himself that he’s not some alien what with how odd he looks. Galra wolves are _weird._ “Be nice. That’s my alpha.”

“I am your alpha,” Sendak says, completely serious. Shiro smiles.

“Nice try, buddy. I’ve really gotta go.” He drops a kiss to his forehead and then starts reaching for his clothes, letting the matter drop.

* * *

Shiro forgot how much he missed hunting.

For wolves, going out and letting loose on occasion is necessary to keep the pack healthy and happy. They live in a large house with a few dozen acres of land, but it’s not the same as running through the wilds with his pack at his side and his alpha in the lead. The pack hosting them is one of Coran’s relations, but they know Allura well. This is only Shiro’s second time hunting with them.

They don’t waste time talking, and the hunt begins quickly. They all strip, set their clothes aside, and then shift all at once.

Lance and Keith are the first to start playing. Lance is usually instigator, but Keith never fails to get drawn into Lance’s antics, so soon they’re snapping at each other, growling, and it isn’t long until the others try to follow along.

Allura’s growl quells then soon enough, and then once they’re all gathered, they take off, running through the forest, following the scents that will lead them to fresh kill.

It starts out strong.

They’re following Allura, keeping track of some trails, and closing in on the kill when Shiro suddenly starts to feel unwell.

He’s in the middle of inspecting a spot of land when dizziness hits him hard. He stumbles a little, but he doesn’t stop, pushing through it. He assumes that it’s a one-off; that he’ll feel better with some time.

He doesn’t feel better. The dizziness gets worse, and then his stomach cramps, and then all he can do is stop and sit down, whining so his team will hear him. Shiro doesn’t shift, because he would be naked, and it’s below freezing out. The pack cabin is miles away.

Within seconds, his pack returns to him, gathering around his prone figure.

Allura noses at the side of his head, and Shiro opens up to her, allowing her to chuff at his neck and shoulders. Eventually, her head bobs and then she shakes it, which is code for ‘I can’t find anything wrong with you.’

Shiro whines again. He feels nauseous, and leans his head on his paws to ride it out.

The other pack members share blank looks. Keith walks over to Shiro and sits next to him, leaning into his side. Pidge follows suit, and then Hunk, and Lance, and soon the entirety of his tiny pack is huddled up against him, providing him with warmth and comfort.

While he lies there, waiting until he feels well enough to move, he thinks about Sendak, and misses him with such desperation that he barely resists howling into the wind, as if Sendak will come at his call.

* * *

“I’m…what?”

Finding out he’s pregnant isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him. Finding out it’s _possible_ for him to get pregnant isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him.

Finding out he’s pregnant in front of both packs is.

They brought Shiro to the cabin and called on the nearest shifter friendly doctor that ended up being an older woman named Rosie. She took one sniff of Shiro, felt around his stomach while he stayed shifted, and then informed him far too casually that he was carrying a litter.

Shiro is pale and speechless on the counter. His fingers are digging divots in the jeans they gave him.

“Well, this is quite…” Coran coughs gently. He looks just as pale. “It’s not unheard of for wolves, as you know, particularly ones turned like Shiro had been. That would explain the, um, dizziness and the cramping. The shift isn’t easy on the body, let alone one…pregnant.”

“That’s not possible,” Shiro says weakly, knowing it’s a lie as soon as the words come out of his mouth.

Allura is staring at him silently. Keith’s lips are thin, his expression flat. Pidge looks both amazed and flabbergasted.

“I didn’t…” Shiro trails off, wringing his hands in his lap. _I didn’t know this would happen._

His mind is blank, save for a roaring sound that seems to get louder every second.

“You didn’t know?” Rosie says. She sounds sympathetic. “Who here is the father?”

Shiro swallows. He doesn’t say anything. Half the people in the room know who it is.

“It doesn’t matter,” Allura cuts in after a moment. “We need to get Shiro home.” She turns to the other pack leader standing there, who’s staring at the different members of their pack with suspicion. “We thank you so much for your hospitality the brief time we were here. I’ll let you know when we’ve made it home safe.”

No one says anything on the way out.

Shiro suffers through the silence they treat him with most of the way home, focusing on the coiling nausea in his gut. He can’t tell if it’s from the pups or his unease. Maybe it’s both.

 _Pups._ He’s carrying Sendak’s pups. Something hot and needy fills his chest, and his next breath comes out shaky.

They’re entering the city limits when someone finally speaks up. It’s Lance, and Shiro is shocked by the soft worry etched onto his face.

“You okay?” he asks, laying his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “You’re pretty pale.”

“Feeling a little motion sick, I think is all,” Shiro croaks. He can’t make himself look at anyone else, but he can sense Allura’s stare. “Allura, I—”

“It’s quite all right,” Allura interrupts. She sounds weary. “I am not blind, Shiro. I am angry that you let the lie go on for this long, but I knew you were seeing the alpha.”

“You did?!” Keith snaps. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Shiro feels his face drain of color. “You knew?”

“I did not for a second believe that you had simply met this alpha ‘on occasion’ smelling like you did. Nor did I believe he would give up that easily. He seemed taken with you.” She glances over. “And you with him.”

Shiro doesn’t know what to think about that, so he tries not to. Thankfully, Allura lets the matter drop, and they fade back into uncomfortable silence.

A few minutes later, they’re back at the castle. Shiro steps out of the car on unsteadily legs and thinks about vomiting; instead, he takes a breath and looks for Keith, finding him marching towards the house, fury written in every step.

“Keith!” Shiro calls, jogging after him. It’s the wrong move: a few paces in and he falters, his stomach roiling against the sudden movement. And because Keith never could deny Shiro when he was hurting, he stops, then turns and walks back, his fury softening at Shiro’s pain.

“Shiro,” he starts once he’s close. He lifts Shiro gently, helping him stand so they can start walking. The others stay behind, probably giving them time to talk. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro says. “I didn’t want you all knowing and kicking me out of the pack. He’s an alpha. He doesn’t want a pack. I’m directly disobeying Allura by doing so.”

“Kicking you out…?” Keith frowns, apparently ignoring the part where he said he was defying Allura. “Allura would never do that.”

“She might now,” he whispers.

“No, now she _definitely_ won’t. And even if she tried, I wouldn’t let her.”

Shiro chuckles at that. Give it to Keith to say that after everything. “But aren’t you also angry with me?”

“I’m fucking pissed. But you’re pack, Shiro. I love you. I would never want you to leave, even because of this.” After opening the door and bracing his back against it, he looks at Shiro. “Unless that’s what you wanted.”

“No,” Shiro says immediately. “I wouldn’t leave. But I…I _like_ Sendak.”

“That’s his name?”

“Yeah. It’s a—a Galra thing.”

“Huh. And you like him?” he asks tentatively. “Enough to leave?”

“No, not to leave. I wouldn’t. I love you guys. I just…” Shiro sighs. “It’s stupid. I shouldn’t have accepted the casserole. That’s where this all started.”

“He made you a casserole?” Keith asks, blinking.

“Yeah?” Shiro smiles. “He’s really sweet, actually.”

“Uh huh.” Keith’s eyes are wide and disbelieving when they get into the living room. He helps Shiro onto the couch, and although Shiro doesn’t need the help getting around—it’s just a bit of nausea—he doesn’t mind being close with Keith. He smiles up at him when Keith straightens, and he returns it before he leaves, claiming he’s going to get Shiro a drink and something to eat.

The rest of the pack filters into the room some time later with Allura at the lead. She stops in front of Shiro, her hand on her hips.

“We’re going to ask your alpha a few questions. Tonight.”

“Tonight? Tonight he’s working, and I don’t think he’s home—”

“Tonight,” she interrupts. “You’re going to call him.”

“I don’t…actually have his number,” Shiro admits sheepishly. Allura cocks her head, and after a moment her eyes light up with an idea.

* * *

Shiro looks back at Allura, unsure.

“Go on,” she says, her voice firm. “Do it. If he is truly invested in your wellbeing, he will come.”

Shiro positions himself some ways away from his pack, sitting back on his hindlegs. His belly feels queasy from the shift, but he was assured that until later into his term he wouldn’t need to restrict his shifting.

He still can’t believe he’s pregnant, but he’s trying not to think about that now. Instead, Shiro concentrates on putting as much heartache and need into his howl as he can. The call of one wolf to another is usually restricted to pack, but Allura theorizes that Sendak _does_ consider him pack, for all his claims of independence. Shiro isn’t so sure.

He lifts his muzzle into the air. He hasn’t howled in years—not like this.

The low sound of his howl fills the air, awkwardly at first, and then with growing confidence. It sounds and _feels_ lonely, tearing into his chest. He howls until his voice peters out and it fades away, and then he does it again, and again, howling for a wolf that he isn’t even sure will be able to hear it.

After the third howl, he glances back at his pack. Keith looks like he wants to go over and comfort him—they all do. Hunk is clinging to Lance, biting down on his lip. He _hates_ hearing pack members in pain.

Shiro turns around, about to start up again, when he suddenly hears an answering howl.

Though calling it a _howl_ is being generous.

It’s like a growl, deep and foreboding, but it’s loud, reverberating throughout the grounds in the way only an alpha’s howl can. A shudder rolls up Shiro’s spine, and he gets up on instinct, circling the spot he’s in.

Not even a moment later, Sendak’s giant wolf bounds out from between the trees, pausing for a split second to assess the situation before he sprints forward and inserts himself between Allura and Shiro.

Allura steps forward, still unshifted, and Sendak snarls. He backs up into Shiro, covering the length of his body.

 _Don’t,_ Shiro wants to say, but he’s a wolf, and he’s lost to the sight of Sendak defending him from his own pack, posturing even though there’s no way he could win.

He whines low in his throat and slides up to his side, trying to convince Sendak that everything is okay through touch alone.

For a moment Sendak stops; he lowers his head to Shiro and nuzzles him fiercely, spreading his scent where he can.

A gasp sounds from one of the pack members.

 _Pack._ His friends. Right: he’s doing this for a reason.

With effort, Shiro shifts back into a human. He spreads his arms across Sendak’s thick coat of fur and presses his face into it.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, ignoring the looks his pack is giving him. “We’re okay. _I’m_ okay. We just needed to talk to you.”

Sendak slowly relaxes, and then he begins to shift, turning his body towards Shiro so that by the time he’s human, he’s still able to bring Shiro into his protective embrace.

“We?” is the first thing he says, eyes shifting suspiciously towards Allura.

“Sendak.” Allura steps forward, her expression grim. “It’s about time we met officially. Congratulations, you’ve knocked up one of my wolves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will be learning more about what Coran meant when he said "the way Shiro was turned" hmhmhmhm


	2. Get Goin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro shivers, and Allura’s eyes flick to him. He’s not sure what she sees, but it’s enough that her lip twitches, and she turns to Sendak again, her gaze somehow still resting on Shiro without looking at him. 
> 
> “You are aware that Shiro is not a natural born wolf,” she says. It’s not a question. 
> 
> “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter describes how Shiro can get preg, so if that could potentially squick you out and you don't want to be surprised, read the end notes where I summarize it. It's a very short scene, but better safe than sorry!

Shiro feels like a teenager sitting next to his boyfriend, having been caught doing something inappropriate.

The way the rest of his pack is staring at him, the comparison feels apt.

After the initial shock of his condition being announced so blatantly, they moved into the pack living room, where the entirety of Shiro’s pack attempted to wrangle him into a protective pile, only to have Sendak yank him to his side before he’d been given the chance to give his own say in the matter.

He decides to stick with Sendak, if only to give him a little bit of support, what with how he’d been jumped by the news.

Shiro can’t get the look on his face out of head; he’d been shocked, then appalled, then he’d turned to Shiro and stared at him unseeing, like he couldn’t quite grasp what was being said to him.

Shiro can’t blame him. It wasn’t a kind way to do it, and Allura is being generous enough by allowing Sendak on their territory and allowing _Shiro_ to stand on his side instead of with the pack. Even if she looks angered by it.

Still, he can’t help but feel guilty about the looks of betrayal written on their faces. It isn’t as if he planned for this happen, but now that they’re here, all he really wants to do is cling to Sendak and bury himself in his firm embrace.

Sendak’s arm tightens around his waist, and Shiro resists instinct telling him to turn his head and take a whiff. Sendak is sitting next to him, but he’s pulled so tightly against his side that Shiro may as well crawl into his lap and get it over with.

It’s what he wants to do, but it’s not what he should do, and it’s not what he does. The closest Shiro allowed himself is to lay his hand on Sendak’s knee, squeezing gently.

“You’re certain,” Sendak says, for the fifth time since the conversation started.

“There is no doubt,” Allura replies. She’s looking between Shiro and Sendak seated opposite to them, and Shiro can’t tell if the disgust on her face is because of Sendak and everything he represents, or because of his strong scent. Sendak smells incredibly tantalizing to Shiro, but maybe that’s because his body is preparing to have his pups.

His litter.

Shiro shivers, and Allura’s eyes flick to him. He’s not sure what she sees, but it’s enough that her lip twitches, and she turns to Sendak again, her gaze somehow still resting on Shiro without looking at him.

“You are aware that Shiro is not a natural born wolf,” she says. It’s not a question.

“Yes.”

“You are aware that due to certain circumstances, his wolf is not male.”

A pause. Then: “Yes.”

‘Certain circumstances’ being that Shiro was turned by Allura, but in order to save his life, she had to give him some of her life energy. Magic isn’t strong with wolves, but the Alteans have always had a knack for it, and when he was turned, his wolf didn’t come with the same parts.

It’s never really bothered him—what’s his is his, even if it’s a little different, and to a wolf it doesn’t mean squat—but he didn’t actually think it would be possible for him to get pregnant.

Until now.

Allura folds her hands in front of her, staring Sendak down.

“The only way that this could have happened is if the two of you engaged in…well, _reckless_ behavior.”

“You mean banging when they’re wolves, right?” Hunk asks, only to be greeted with silence from the rest of the room, alongside a few dirty looks. “What, I’m just making sure we’re all on the same page here!”

“I think we’re all on the same page here, Hunk,” Lance says. “I don’t think we could be any more on the same page!”

“God,” Shiro whispers, covering his face with his hand.

The night is burned in Shiro’s memory. How could he forget?

He was at Sendak’s. They weren’t planning on having sex, and then they…ended up having sex.

Shiro underestimated the effect of the near-full moon while he was around Sendak. What had always seemed arousing was now irresistible, and once Sendak was fucking him on his bed, the urge to shift had hit Shiro like a tidal wave. That coupled with the surrounding scent of an alpha that he wanted so _badly,_ and with the lack of any reason not to, he just...let it happen.

“I can’t stop it,” he’d sobbed, sinking his claws into Sendak’s pillow. “Don’t want to stop it. Wanna shift so bad.”

“Then do it,” Sendak growled into his ear. He buried himself deep, then stilled with a long, painful groan. Shiro felt his body growing larger; expanding, getting bigger and bigger until he was almost entirely shifted.

“Pull out,” Shiro warned him, knowing what was coming as he felt his body shift and his insides rearrange themselves. He barely stopped from shifting fully so he could keep some of his human awareness, but he may as well have been for all that it had changed about him.

Spreading his thighs, Shiro leaned further into Sendak’s pillow, exposing himself with a plaintive whine.

Sendak lifted his snout, surprised.

“Is this okay?” Shiro asked, his words coming out growly, nearly incomprehensible due to the close shift.

Sendak’s reply was to nose his way in between Shiro’s thighs to sniff at his newly formed anatomy for a moment. Then he gave his vulva a flat, hungry lick, and Shiro jolted, reacting by kicking him in the side with his hind leg.

Neither of them had shifted fully, and since Sendak was in the same boat as Shiro, his name came out a deep rumble while he lined up his cock with Shiro’s cunt.

Sendak fucked and then knotted him like that, grinding his gargantuan knot up inside Shiro until he was a sobbing mess. He’d never had sex as a wolf—let alone been knotted by one—and by the time he finished and pulled out, Shiro was so exhausted from both that he immediately went to sleep.

As a wolf.

Shiro didn’t even _think_ about the possibility until it had been revealed to him now.

“I thought only natural born wolves could get pregnant,” he says, quietly enough that what conversation is happening stalls. “Even if…”

“It’s different when magic is involved,” Allura says gently. “There is a lot to your form specifically that I should have considered. If I’m being honest, _I_ didn’t think it was possible. But I should have said something.”

Allura is the same age as Shiro, so he can’t blame her for their ignorance. It’s no one’s fault.

“I just wanna know, why him?” Keith mutters, quiet enough that a human wouldn’t be able to hear it.

Why?

Shiro can’t answer that. Not without admitting that _pack_ means something different to him than it does to the others. He’s not natural born—he doesn’t get it like most of them do.

Shiro stares down at his lap, hands fisted, nausea roiling hot in his gut. He hasn’t felt well since coming back, and the anxiety of their current situation and his post-shift haze is only making that worse.

The arm around his waist moves, and Shiro twitches when a hand lays over top his tight fist.

Sendak isn’t looking at him, but rather facing his pack. The fingers around his squeeze, once, and then he speaks.

“What do you require of me?”

There’s a pause, then Allura says, “What?”

“What is required of me? What does he _need?”_

Allura blinks, her confusion slowly transforming into understanding. When she speaks, her voice is far less gentle than it was a moment ago.

“Support, to put it simply. In whatever way Shiro might need. But I think you should be asking Shiro that, and not me.”

This isn’t a conversation that should involve pack. At least, that’s what it feels like to Shiro, but pack dynamics are something he’s always struggled to fully understand.

Sitting here, discussing the ramifications of his relationship with Sendak is embarrassing, but no one else seems to feel the same way.

Sendak certainly isn’t embarrassed, and when he turns to looks at Shiro, there’s an openness to his expression; a readiness to accept whatever Shiro decides.

Shiro stares into his face, trying to figure out what the hell that is.

“I don’t…know,” he admits. “I don’t know what I need. This is all so new to me.”

“That’s an understatement,” Lance mutters.

“Very well,” Allura says smugly, “then I suppose it’s up to me.”

Shiro feels Sendak’s tense. He has the feeling that whatever Allura is about to say is not going to bode well for either of them.

“You will join our pack,” she starts, startling Shiro. A gasp goes around the room.

"No," Sendak says, without hesitation.

Allura’s eyes narrow.

“On a temporary basis, of course,” she finishes, as if he hadn’t spoken. “I wouldn’t allow another alpha on my territory if it weren’t absolutely necessary. But I care for Shiro, and it’s clear that he cares for you. Whether _you_ feel the same remains to be seen.”

Sendak bristles, and Shiro lays his hand over his arm.

“You will stay long enough for Shiro to make whatever decisions he needs. It’s that, or you may leave.” She examines her nails for a moment, and when she glances up, her gaze is hard as steel. “For good.”

“Allura—” Keith starts, but she growls low in her throat, and it’s all the warning Keith needs to fade back into silence.

“You have no other options, and you will not be welcome here otherwise. I won’t have another wolf running in and out, deigning to show up whenever he likes. Either you commit to this, or you do not.”

It’s not fair. Shiro _knows_ it’s not a fair deal, not after Sendak just learned about the pregnancy, and so does Allura. But he’s not surprised. Sendak is a rival alpha and giving him an impossible ultimatum is a surefire way to see how he feels about Shiro.

“We will give you time to discuss it further,” she says, standing, “but these are my terms.”

The others don’t move at first, but once Allura walks away, the silence in the room becomes unbearably loud.

“Guess we should…” Lance trails off, rubbing his arm with one hand, unsure.

“Want me to make us a snack?” Hunk asks. “I think we could all use a snack.”

“We just had dinner an hour ago,” Pidge points out.

“I’m hungry,” Keith says. “And I’m sure that _Sendak,”_ he pauses, like it’s the most painful word he’s ever uttered, “could use something to eat.”

It’s almost approval, and Shiro smiles weakly at Keith.

“I guess I could eat.”

“Then I’ll make some food!” Hunk says, far too loudly. “Come on, Lance.”

“Wait, you’re not making _me_ help, are you? I had to chop that onion earlier and it sucked.”

“Come _on,_ Lance.”

Hunk pulls Lance up and around the couch, using strength he rarely displays. Keith slowly gets up to follow after them, and Pidge types on her pad for a moment before she, too, leaves, casting one final glance behind her at Shiro.

Then it’s just the two of them sitting close together in a room with warring smells.

Shiro really is feeling exhausted, so instead of doing anything rational and sane like taking a step back and talking about what just happened, he leans his head on Sendak’s shoulder and closes his eyes.

“I’m so tired,” he says quietly. Then, “I can’t believe you actually came.”

Sendak just strokes his hand down the length of Shiro’s side. Shiro turns his head to better inhale his strong scent, letting it block out everything else in the room until it’s all he can smell.

“You don’t have to do this.”

The words fall out of his mouth unbidden, but he doesn’t try to stop them.

“I know this wasn’t a part of your plan. It wasn’t a part of mine, either. I think I’m going to keep the pups—” He feels Sendak stiffen at the admission, “—but you’re not obligated to stick around.”

Shiro feels Sendak shift, his shoulders falling out from under Shiro. Sendak turns to face him, and the brush of his hand on Shiro’s cheek is all the warning Shiro gets before he’s being kissed.

Sendak’s hand curls over the back of his head, slowly guiding him down until Sendak is lying on top of him, pressing kisses against his open mouth.

The intimacy after the stress of confronting his pack nearly brings tears to Shiro’s eyes. He wants so badly to beg, to plead with Sendak to stay here with his pack, even knowing it’s never what Sendak wanted.

“Talk to me,” Shiro rasps.

“A litter,” Sendak breathes into his mouth. The wraps an arm around Shiro’s waist, pulling him flush. Encased in Sendak’s embrace, he has nowhere to go, and he kisses him again. “How many did she say?”

“Don’t know yet. Have to go to the doctor.” Shiro buries his face in Sendak’s throat, aching to ask, _are you staying? Will you stay, for me?_

“You don’t have to stay,” is what he says instead.

“I know.”

Sendak’s reply feels like being struck. Reading into it would be dangerous, but Shiro can’t help the way his breath catches when he looks up into Sendak’s face and sees his unreadable expression.

Lips press against his one final time, and then Sendak sits up, still holding onto Shiro. His mouth moves to Shiro’s throat, warm, sliding up to his jaw. One hand reaches around and squeezes his ass.

“Really?” Shiro asks, but he’s chuckling. The chuckling goes on, pulling a smile from Sendak, and then Shiro starts laughing, and giggling, and he can’t stop, until suddenly the bubbles of laughter catch in his throat and the tears that have been clinging to his eyelashes spill over, and then he’s crying.

“Shiro.” Sendak sounds alarmed, and Shiro just shakes his head and sobs into his fists, biting down on the knuckle.

“Shiro,” Sendak says, more insistently, tilting his chin up to look at him.

“Sorry,” Shiro rasps, reaching up to wipe at his eyes.

“You have _nothing_ to apologize for.” Sendak kisses the left side of his face. “Do not apologize as though you planned this from the beginning. I was the one that lured you away from your pack.”

“No.” Shiro shakes his head. “I didn’t have to keep seeing you. I should have—shifting during sex is such a _stupid_ idea, I don’t know why I did it.”

“I enjoyed it, as did you. And the full moon would have been no different, had you been mine then as well.”

Shiro flushes, which is funny—they got here because he had a lot of sex with Sendak in unsafe ways, but sometimes it’s the little things like that that embarrass him.

“Don’t say that so loudly,” Shiro says, lowering his voice, despite how useless his warning will prove, knowing his pack. They may as well have their ear to the door for all that space will do for either of them. Werewolf hearing is no joke.

Sendak cocks his head. For a while he just stares at Shiro, who’s still sniffling and crying openly, but eventually he leans forward and kisses Shiro’s forehead once, with firm and even pressure.

“Wait here,” he says against his skin.

“Here?” Shiro blinks through his tears, using the heel of his hand to brush them away. “As in the couch?”

Sendak pulls back, rolling his eyes, as though Shiro is the dense one.

“Here, with your pack. Stay with them.”

“I’m…not planning on leaving.”

“Good.” Sendak’s chest puffs out, his ears flickering against his head. Shiro wants to ask what the hell he’s talking about, but he’s about had it with being confused, so he just accepts how bizarre and cagey Sendak is being and decides he’ll be concerned over the future another day.

Eventually, he gets a handle on his emotions and the tears cease. His lips won’t stop trembling every so often, and he knows his eyes are probably red-rimmed, but the way Sendak keeps nosing at his throat and kissing his jaw makes him feel marginally better.

The attention from another alpha feels good, and he wonders for a brief moment if he really has fucked everything over, confusing even his wolf that wants to be near Sendak more than his own pack.

They stay like that for another half hour, not talking like they should be and exchanging scents. The pack is suspiciously absent, but he knows they’re probably listening in another room.

“I’m going to leave now,” Sendak tells him. He brushes his palm along Shiro’s waist, then gives it a firm pat. “Wait here.”

“You said that.” Shiro smiles and lays his hand over Sendak’s. “But okay. I’ll…see you later, right? I know this was a lot. I can’t promise Allura will let you come back, but I’ll do my best.”

Sendak nods, his eyes looking past Shiro, something on his mind that doesn’t involve him. He tries not to feel hurt by it, because for all the time that they’ve spent together, he doesn’t actually know Sendak all that well.

Shiro walks him to the door, arms wrapped around himself, and Sendak leaves.

* * *

The next day, nobody talks about it. As in, the pack doesn’t interrogate him about anything that went on, and they all try to act like everything is normal. The only time that they acknowledge what’s going on is when Hunk informs him that he’s booked Shiro an appointment with their usual doctor.

“He’s always pretty busy, but I told him it was an emergency and he managed to fit us in during a cancellation. You’re not working Monday, right?”

Shiro shakes his head. Monday was one of the days he would go to see Sendak.

“No, I’m off. Monday’s fine.”

“Cool,” Hunk says, casually, like his eyes aren’t straying towards Shiro’s stomach every few seconds.

A few days pass, and there’s still no word from Sendak.

Shiro tries not to panic.

Then a few days turns into a week, and the panic starts to set in.

Shiro tells himself to wait, to give Sendak time to do whatever he needs to do and process the information, but Shiro’s _pregnant,_ and Sendak told him to stay, and Shiro doesn’t know what that means.

He’s never felt so anxious about another person before. He’s not sure if it’s because of the pregnancy or because Sendak feels a lot like his alpha when he’s not a part of his pack, but over the course of the weeks his emotions go from vague concern to outright terror.

To be frank, he’s scared, even with his pack behind him. He told Sendak it didn’t matter, that he didn’t have to stay, but the longer that he’s gone, the more Shiro regrets not begging him to stay.

As his alpha, Allura is protective and angry enough for ten of them, which somehow makes it worse.

“I expected he would disappear,” she says angrily. She’s peeking out the living room window, as if she might spot him running through the trees to reach them. “A lone alpha, suddenly saddled with the weight of what he’s done. What do you expect?” She turns back to Shiro, who looks like he’s just swallowed a lemon. Sighing, she walks over to brush her hand over the hollow of his throat. “I know you cared for him, but I can’t say I’m surprised by this development.”

“I still _care,_ you know _._ And he’s—look, maybe we just have to wait a little longer.” Shiro sits down on the couch and glances at the clock: it’s 2pm. “Even if he’s not staying, he’ll at least come to tell me that.”

Humming doubtfully, Allura moves away from the window and into another room. Shiro can smell her anger pouring off of her, and swallows down the impulse to whine and roll at her feet.

Through the miracle of self-control and willpower, Shiro doesn’t visit Sendak’s place to demand he show up, no matter how much he’d like to. Although he may not know him well, he trusts Sendak to come through eventually, even if it’s taking…longer than expected.

Plus, with work and pack events always at the forefront, it’s easier to distract himself, though those distractions may not last long.

* * *

Shiro makes it another day before he finally pays Sendak a visit.

He promised himself he would give him time, but then he rationalizes that it can’t hurt, right? Sendak is certainly busy, but at least he’s around, and Shiro’s just going to get groceries.

 _There’s a store just a few blocks away,_ he thinks, walking along the familiar roads. _It’s not like we don’t live in the same city._

The first sign that something is off is the stale taste of Sendak’s scent.

Based on the scent—or lack thereof—he hasn’t been around for days. Shiro buzzes into his complex a few times, waiting, but there’s no answer. Too far in to give up now, he waits until someone enters the apartment and slips in past, making his way up to Sendak’s room. The scent is less stale, but he hasn’t been there in last 48 hours at least.

Stopping short of his door, Shiro takes a deep, solidifying breath. He tries the handle on the door. It’s open.

Surprise and concern pulls Shiro inside, and when he looks around the room, his throat closes.

It’s empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for Shiro's preg origins: When Allura turned him, she used her life energy and so his shifted wolf form is a female wolf. So Shiro as a wolf has a vagina. Waow. 
> 
> A few of you predicted angst, but idk why you would ever think _I_ would do such a thing. uwu


	3. Communication Is Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the next inhale, Shiro catches whiff of Sendak’s pervasive scent, and all hell breaks loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The peak romance tag was a joke because Sendak is bad at it lol (but he tries)

The room isn’t completely empty. However, most of Sendak’s things are missing, including the few items that Shiro gave him for scent-exchange purposes. The dust ring on the shelf is the only indication that the mug he gave Sendak was ever there. Like everything else, it's gone.

Shiro walks over and sits down on his bed, thinking about how Sendak insisted multiple times on giving him a set of his sheets so Shiro could build a nest with them. 

His fingers curl over his knees as he gazes at the evidence of Sendak’s disappearance—proof, finally, that he’s leaving. 

 _Was he going to tell me?_  

He doesn’t want to know the answer as much as he’s desperate to hear it from the man himself.

 _“You should build out a nest here. With me,”_ Sendak had told him.

The corners of his eyes sting with a familiar burn. Shiro blinks rapidly and shakes his head, willing the heartbreak down. He breathes out slowly, the fingers over his knees trembling a little.

The threat of his rampant emotional state has been a constant battle for Shiro; he hasn’t let himself fall victim to his emotions since this whole thing started, but the moment that Sendak’s scent drifts up from the bedsheets, he breaks. 

He tried to resist, to rationalize Sendak’s disappearance, but as the days rolled on by, it got harder to deny that maybe when he told Shiro to _stay,_ that meant he was going to _leave._  

Shiro buries his face his hands, covering it to block out the sight of Sendak’s betrayal. He cries until he can hardly breathe, shoving his face into Sendak’s pillow like he can commit the scent to memory. 

His biggest regret is not getting Sendak’s number. It’s one of many, in fact. Scent in the city only takes him so far, and he always rationalized that if he put his number in his phone, was it really as casually as he was pretending? 

The answer is no, no it wasn’t. Because he might have been a little in love with Sendak, and he was hoping Sendak felt the same. 

Shiro cleans himself up in Sendak’s bathroom, trying and failing not to recall the way that he would hover over the sink like he is now with Sendak behind him; sometimes idly touching him, dragging his knuckles down the knobs of Shiro’s spine; or laying his hands on his hips, tugging him close, hair tickling the back of his neck.

Shiro locks the door on his way out. The air outside feels cooler than he remembers. He takes the steps two at a time, shivering from the chill. It feels as though whatever warmth had sustained him on his way to Sendak’s dissipates with each step that leads him away from the apartment and pulls him further from the place where Sendak and he made love time and time again. 

 _This sucks,_ Shiro thinks, holding up no resistance to the tears that slide down his cheeks. It doesn’t matter that there are people on the street; they’re all hurrying towards their destination, too consumed with their own lives and fighting against the cold to notice the man huddled next to a building, crying his eyes out.

“Shiro?” 

Shiro’s shoulders rise up to his hairline. It’s Pidge’s voice.

God, of _course_ it would be Pidge. It couldn’t be Hunk, or Lance, or even _Keith;_ no, it had to be Pidge _._

“Pidge! What’s up?” he asks, feigning innocence while furtively wiping at his eyes. Acting like he hasn’t been crying himself silly for the past twenty minutes is going to be a challenge. “What are you doing here?” 

“Uh, getting some supplies at Best Buy. I needed some cables.” She rubs the back of her neck, her pad dangling from her fingers, all but forgotten when faced with a member of her pack clearly in distress. “Are you…okay, Shiro?” 

He can smell her concern, and if they were in a place where she could shift freely, she would curl around his body to offer what comfort she can.

“I’m okay,” Shiro croaks, and doesn’t know why he can’t manage even that. She frowns at him, and the tears threaten to spill over at the soft worry coloring her expression. “Really. I’m fine. I was just…out.” 

“By Sendak’s place,” she deadpans. 

“How do you know he lives here?” 

“I didn’t.” She grins. “Okay, I knew he lived around here, but I never bothered to figure out exactly where.” 

Shiro shrugs. Neither of them says anything for a moment, and she starts fiddling with her pad, turning it on and off.

“So, was he there?” 

“Nope.” His answer is curter than he’d like, but the realization is still fresh and stinging. “He’s gone. Or is currently going. Most of his stuff is moved out.”

“Oh.” 

The weight that the single word carries is more than Shiro can bear. He shrugs his shoulders and angles his body away, rubbing his hand across his throat. 

“I, uh. I should get back. I was on my way to get groceries since we’re out of milk. Again.”

Neither of them mentions that the nearest grocery store is a ten-minute walk from the pack house. Sendak’s apartment is across town.

“Lance does love milkshakes,” Pidge says, chuckling a little. “Want me to come with?”

“Nah, I’ve got it. Anything you want from the store?”

“Prenatal vitamins.” 

Shiro freezes.

“For you, dummy. Make sure you get some. We’re gonna need to start taking care of you now.” 

We, as in the pack instead of Sendak. Not that they wouldn’t be involved, but…

Pidge sighs at his silence and gives him a pat on the shoulder before she starts walking away, waving her fingers at him.

“Get those vitamins! And don’t forget your doctor’s appointment on Monday!” 

Shiro watches her leave, wishing he could fully appreciate the effort everyone is putting into helping him, but all he can think about is Sendak. 

After rubbing his eyes one final time, he walks to the nearest store and picks up whatever he can recall that they need. Then he goes home. 

* * *

Saturday, Shiro tries to take his mind off Sendak by hanging out with pack, and it helps. He’s nauseous the whole time, and his mood swings around occasionally, but it’s nice. Then that evening he spars with Keith, and then Hunk, although they’re a lot gentler than he’d like. He can tell they’re avoiding certain parts of his anatomy, and while he gets it, pretending that it’s not an issue sounds a lot more fun than continuing to worry. 

On Sunday he starts on his nest, beginning with the blanket that Sendak made him months ago. After the initial reveal that he’d kept it, Shiro would bring it over to his place periodically so Sendak could continue to rub his stink all over it. 

Looking back, it’s a wonder that anyone believed he wasn’t seeing Sendak when it was so obvious.

He shoves the blanket in the corner of the room and steps back, deciding where best to start. The bed, of course, would be best, but the way the light shines in his eyes in the morning makes him hesitate. 

A few hours later, and Keith walks in on Shiro moving most of his things to one side of the room. The bed has been haphazardly dragged to the center of the room, but it’s angled towards the far-right wall.

“Shiro,” Keith says, hesitantly, “what are you doing?” 

“I’m—” Shiro pauses to grunt as he moves a heavy stack of books, “moving my things around. Spring cleaning.” 

“Then why is Sendak’s blanket on your bed?” 

“Where else would I put it if I was going to move it?”

Keith doesn't say anything about the obvious way his blanket has been positioned, and instead his eyes scan the room, taking it in in a single glance.

“You’re nesting,” he realizes aloud. 

Shiro opens his mouth to deny it, then thinks better of it. 

“Maybe. I don’t know.” He scratches the back of his neck. “I’m trying to figure it out. Can you help me move this?” 

He gestures to his bed. Keith glances at it, then at Shiro, the tension in his jaw suggesting he’s a few seconds away from pulling Shiro out of the room, but then he marches over to the bed and starts pulling at it. 

Keith shoos him away when he tries to help. Sometimes Shiro forgets that despite Keith’s wiry figure, he’s just as strong as any of them. He has it moved in moments, and then he starts hauling the blankets that Shiro has piled in the corner on top of the bed until Shiro stops him.

“Wait! Put those…” Shiro taps his foot, arms crossed. “You know what, I’ll do that later.” He waves his hand at the messy side of the room. “Just leave them.” 

“Uh huh.” Keith’s eyes sparkle with mirth; he’s seen nesting. They all have. Shiro will likely move the sheets a dozen times before he’s satisfied with their placement. “Anything else?” 

It’s the way he says it, like it’s an honest question, and not a snarky demand, that makes Shiro appreciate having Keith as pack. All the things he says, and all the times he sticks up for Shiro—he really means it. 

“No,” Shiro says warmly, “thanks, Keith. You’re awesome.”

Keith’s cheeks flush, and he ducks his head. “You’re the awesome one, Shiro.”

“Am I awesome if I got pregnant from an alpha in another pack?” 

“Yep,” Keith says, without hesitation. “You’re making our pack bigger. Stronger. Sendak is a dicknugget and he doesn’t deserve you _or_ your pups.”

A grin stretches across Shiro’s face at Keith’s words. “Did you just call Sendak a dicknugget?” 

Keith shrugs. “Lance came up with it. It’s kinda fitting.”

Shiro doesn’t want to agree. On one hand, Sendak is sweet: he was careful and thoughtful, he made him food many times, and on one memorable occasion bought him flowers. 

On the other, he left, and hasn’t come back. 

“Maybe,” Shiro says, and Keith grins, walking over to butt his head against his shoulder. 

“We’re piling up tonight. Lance’s idea. He thinks it’ll help you relax before your appointment.” 

“I am _plenty_ relaxed,” Shiro defends. 

“You threw up three times this morning.”

“I was nauseous, Keith. With morning sickness.” 

“Two of those were after we mentioned Sendak. Admit it: you’re stressed out about this whole thing. And that’s normal! This is all new and scary, even with us to help you.” 

Shiro shrugs, pulling away from Keith to walk towards the doorway. Stressed would be putting it lightly. 

“I’m fine, Keith. But you know what would help me de-stress? Some fresh air. Come on.”

Keith follows behind and doesn’t press him anymore, which Shiro is grateful for. By the time they’re out in the open, he can feel himself relaxing. The air is freezing, but it feels good to take it in. 

Shiro stands there and breathes in a few times, hands on his hips, embracing the cool air before Keith inevitably insists that they turn back inside. Keith stands next to him, closer than Shiro feels is appropriately necessary, but he doesn’t blame him. He never does. 

They both gaze out at the forest surrounding their pack house. The chilly air burns in Shiro’s lungs, but there are birds in the distance, their calls echoing high above, proof that there's still so much life at this time of year. Some leaves to Shiro’s left rustle in the wind, caught in a swirling vortex before dispersing.

It’s peaceful. 

On the next inhale, Shiro catches whiff of Sendak’s pervasive scent, and all hell breaks loose. 

Keith is already a wolf the moment that Shiro realizes Sendak is at the edge of the forest, walking their way casually, like he hasn’t been missing for over a week with no way to contact him. 

“Keith!” Shiro shouts, but Keith is off like a shot, a blur headed straight for Sendak, who shifts the moment he realizes what Keith is doing. Pieces of fabric and some fur goes flying as they tumble. Keith’s a lot smaller than Sendak, but that isn’t stopping him, not even a little bit.

“Keith!” Shiro bellows. Neither of them listens. Shiro swears and sprints towards them, his thoughts slow, like his brain hasn’t quite caught up on what’s happening. 

“Keith! _Keith!”_

Sendak lifts his head for a brief moment, zeroing in on Shiro, and it’s like being thrown back in time. All Shiro wants to do is shift and curl up against Sendak’s side. He wants to invite him into his nest and show him his progress and make it smell like the two of them. He wants to kiss him until he can’t _breathe._

The distraction gives Keith the needed opening to bite at his throat. Sendak howls, and then they’re back at it. 

“Keith! Sendak! _Fuck,_ they're not listening,” Shiro breathes. 

He has no idea how he’d supposed to stop the two of them from fighting before the rest of the pack detects Sendak’s scent. He could jump in, but even if they stopped in time, there’s no telling what kind of injury he might incur. 

 _Is this really happening right now?_  he thinks, swiping his hand down his face. He watches as Keith gets a claw in Sendak’s side, raking it down his heavy flank and drawing the scent of blood. _They’re going to kill each other._

Calling Allura would make the most sense, but there’s no telling she wouldn’t join Keith. She hasn’t been feeling generous with her opinion of Sendak either. Shiro’s no stranger to helplessness as of late, but it hurts to see Keith doing exactly what Shiro doesn’t want, ignoring his wishes in the name of protecting Shiro. 

And then there’s Sendak. 

_I don’t know what to do._

It’s overwhelming, seeing him after what feels like such a long time. Keith attacked him before he could even get a good look at his face. 

“Please, just stop,” he says, weakly, because he’s three seconds from bursting into tears, and his voice lost to the wind burning his dry throat and the loud snarling from the two wolves. _“Stop.”_

Shiro is _tired_ of crying. He’s tired all the time, just plain exhausted in a way he hasn’t felt since before he was a wolf. He manages not to lose it completely, but his lip trembles and he has to swallow against a lump that won’t go down. After letting out a rough huff of air, he lifts his head, blinking up at the sky. 

“God, I hate you both. You stupid, _goddamn_ werewolves, you’re going to—” He lets out a sound of pure frustration and rage, swiping at his eyes to ward away his wayward emotions. “Fuck. _Fuck.”_

He doesn’t realize the growling has stopped and the air has lost the sounds of their fighting until someone grabs his hand. Shiro’s head whips around, a scowl quickly forming on his face once he realizes who’s standing in front of him. 

“Shiro—” Sendak begins. 

“Don’t touch me,” Shiro snaps, yanking his hands out of Sendak’s. Or at least he tries to. Sendak doesn’t let him go, but instead takes a step closer to him, looking for the world like _he’s_ the one that’s been missing out. There’s blood on his chin and his neck, but it’s already healing. “You—let me _go_ —you left.”

“I intended to come back,” Sendak explains. Though calling it an explanation is generous. 

“How the hell was I supposed to know that?! You didn’t say a word to me about it! You didn’t call, you didn’t text—” 

“I did not have your number!” 

“—you could have come back at any point, but you didn’t—" That’s where Shiro nearly dissolves into tears again, barely holding them back, “—you didn’t even do that. It’s been almost two weeks, Sendak! Now let me go.”

“I was preoccupied with my plans. Time was short. Shiro, please—”

“He said let him go!” Keith growls, taking a threatening step towards them. Both of them are naked, and the scene is so ludicrous that Shiro would laugh if he wasn’t so upset.

Sendak looks very much like he’d rather do anything but listen to them, but he releases Shiro’s hands, stepping back to reach for his tattered jeans. Shiro can hear the rest of the pack coming their way and doesn’t bother to look behind him.

“I was returning to you,” Sendak says. “I said to you…” His chest expands on a quiet inhale, his voice purposefully low and gentle. “I thought it was obvious when I told you to stay that I would return.”

“No!” Shiro all but shouts, vision blurring. “It wasn’t obvious at all! You were so happy to get away from me that you barely said goodbye!”

Sendak pauses, considering what Shiro said. 

“I did not realize—I thought you knew.”

“Knew _what?_ Sendak, I know you’re not big on communication, but you can’t just leave me like that with no idea where you were or what you were doing. I even went to your apartment and you were—” 

Shiro stops with his hand over his eyes, trying desperately not to cry. When he speaks, he does so slowly and deliberately. 

“You weren’t there. All yours and my things were moved. What was I supposed to think?”

“Shiro.”

Shiro won’t look at him, even when he feels Sendak’s arms wrap around his waist. He remains stiff and unmoving, ignoring every signal his body is sending out, telling him to relax into the embrace of his alpha. 

“I thought you knew,” Sendak insists. “I thought I had made it obvious that I was interested in doing this with you. And your pack,” he adds, after a moment. 

Shiro twists in his grip, looking back at the rest of his pack. They’re a dozen feet away, watching the proceedings from a respectful distance. They all look _pissed._  

“Preparations took longer than I expected," Sendak continues. "The moving truck went to the wrong house.” 

“Moving truck?” 

“I should have contacted you,” Sendak says, thick with regret. “I did not realize, caught up in my own excitement. These days I am not often around people, and you are the first that has captured my heart like this. I apologize, Shiro.”

Shiro is trying to process what Sendak said, and so far his mind is just…blank. 

“Moving truck?” he repeats, and like magic he hears the sound of an engine. When he turns to look, a moving truck appears around the bend on the road leading to their house. 

It all starts clicking into place. 

When Sendak said _stay,_ and _wait,_ he meant _wait for me._

“You were planning on joining our pack all along?” he asks.

“Yes. But I needed to commit. I did not want to have any reason to leave when you needed my support. I must have been too…eager to get started with preparations that I neglected to explain myself.” 

Shiro stares at Sendak’s chest, finally allowing the hope that he had refused to let live flow up into his chest. 

“So, you’re happy?” Shiro asks tentatively, lifting his hand and placing it over Sendak's right pec. “About the pups?” 

The look of pleasure and satisfaction on Sendak’s face at the mention is indication enough. 

 _“Yes,"_ he rumbles. "I should have made it clear then, when your alpha announced you were carrying our litter.” 

“You _absolutely_ should have, yes.”

“I should have,” Sendak agree, taking a step closer and pulling Shiro into his embrace. He sniffs at his jaw, the press of his lips hot against Shiro’s icy skin. “Do you understand what you’ve changed in me, Shiro? I was never interested in a pack, and I never considered having pups of my own. But with you, I would like to try.” 

“Oh,” Shiro says. It’s not nearly enough of a response to what Sendak has revealed, but he’s all out of processing power.  “I…okay. We’ll talk to Allura. We can figure it out. We will.” 

Shiro feels numb as they walk to where the pack is waiting. Keith is dressed in his ratty jeans and a ripped t-shirt, waiting beside Lance. They stand like guardians of a sanctuary, and their positions don’t relax, even as Sendak begins to explain essentially what he told Shiro in condensed form.

They don’t go easy on him. Lance spends five whole minutes telling him how stupid he is for not being clear with his intentions _and_ his feelings, and the rest chime in when necessary, including Allura, who looks half a second from wolfing out on him.

Shiro watches it all from the sidelines, feeling a mixture of things. 

Mostly, he’s feeling…happy. 

It’s going to take time to get to know Sendak, _really_ know him, and for all he knows, this could end up being a huge mistake, but it feels amazing to know that Sendak cares and he wants to try this with him. 

* * *

“You are absolutely ridiculous, you know that?” Allura says, directing her words at Sendak. She lifts a box from the ground, the muscles in her thighs flexing as she brings it up into her arms. “You did not tell us _anything_ about the truck that was coming today. What if we were gone?”

Sendak says nothing; he’s heard it enough times, and he’s busy nuzzling up to Shiro. The two are sitting by the door, waiting for Allura and Pidge to grab the last few boxes. Sendak had been scenting Shiro constantly, running his hands up and down various parts of his body, while Shiro sits back and enjoys the attention, red-faced though he may be.

“Do you know how many?” Sendak asks in a quiet murmur. 

Shiro shakes his head. “I have an appointment tomorrow. Rosie—the doctor that saw me at the cabin—thought it was a pretty big litter.” 

Sendak rumbles something in his throat, planting his hands flat over Shiro’s belly. It looks more distended when he’s sitting, the slight swell hard under Sendak’s hands. 

Once Sendak is moved in, the pack has to decide on what exactly to do with him. Even as an alpha, normally Allura would have him submit to her, but when faced with truly initiating him she doesn’t feel as keen. 

They decided to wait, allowing his scent to intermingle naturally over time, and see about initiating him then. 

In Shiro’s room, Sendak takes naturally to mean something entirely different. 

“Sendak,” Shiro breathes, leaning his head back into Sendak’s shoulder. His thigh twitches; he has it hooked over the crook of his arm so Sendak can angle his cock better, sliding into Shiro with greater ease. “Fuck. Missed your cock.” 

“Two weeks is far too long to go without having you.”

Shiro’s chuckle fades into a moan as Sendak rocks his hips, burying his cock all the way inside him. His knot isn’t inflated yet, but the extra girth is nice. 

Shiro lays his head against his arm, breathing through the initial push. Sendak is molten hot against his back, and he brings Shiro even closer, splaying his hand across his belly to feel at the soft swell. Shiro tilts his head back, reaching up and curling his arm around Sendak’s head. 

“Touch me, _please.”_  

Sendak fists his cock for a few moments, enjoying the way Shiro squirms and whines, but then his hand drifts over to his nipples. 

Shiro shudders when Sendak’s twists his nipple in between his fingers, timing it with each powerful thrust. It only takes a few minutes of Sendak kissing the soft skin at the base of his throat and the hands running up and down his stomach, alternating between tugging at his nipples and his cock, for Shiro to start riding the edge. 

“Knot me,” he gasps, twisting in Sendak’s grasp so he can move freely. Sendak screams _alpha, alpha,_ all the time and Shiro just wants to follow the instincts urging him to present. 

Once he’s in position, Sendak’s thighs bracket his, and a moment later he slides back in, short thrusts bringing his knot right up to Shiro’s prostate. 

Shiro squeezes his eyes shut and enjoys the sensation, digging his nails into the sheets. Ever since he learned he was pregnant, the shift has been harder to ignore. Like now, when all he wants to do is shift so he can feel Sendak the way it feels best. 

He comes when Sendak knots him, keening as quietly as he can manage in a house full of wolves. Sendak follows shortly after, but unlike Shiro, he makes no attempt to quiet his deep groans of satisfaction. Shiro would feel embarrassed if he wasn’t so happy. 

They lie there for a while after the knot goes down, curled up around one another. Sendak’s hands won’t stop drifting towards his belly, where their pups are growing.

“You’re gonna be a dad,” Shiro says quietly. He hands find Sendak’s, and he squeezes. “And by the way, did I tell you that I have to give birth as a wolf?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waow. Things get weirder(?). Hopefully you're enjoying this! It's def not meant to be a long epic or anything. Just some fun self indulgence for meeee


	4. Litter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Sendak appears less shaken by the idea of Shiro giving birth wile shifted than Shiro initially surmises. Perhaps because he was a natural born wolf, and an alpha, and the idea of seeing Shiro give birth to his children in his most primal state is something he looks forward to seeing. 

If Shiro is being completely honest—which he rarely is about things like this, at least among the others in his pack (they tend to treat him like _he_ ’s the weird one when he brings up traditional wolf things and how odd they make him feel)—it freaks him out a little. 

“So I have to be a wolf for…how long again?” 

“A few weeks at worst,” Hunk replies succinctly. Since the conception of the pups, Hunk has been his main source of information outside of the doctor’s, and in turn, his main sounding board for all his complaints. 

“Is this not just a _little_ bit messed up?” Shiro asks, looking between Hunk and Sendak. “It doesn’t weird you out at all.”

“No,” Sendak replies, before Hunk can open his mouth.  

He stands, then approaches Shiro and proceeds to wrap an arm around his waist, tugging him to his side. A moment later, he starts scenting him, which Shiro bears without comment. It’s common occurrence enough; Sendak has been treating Shiro like he’s a part of _his_ pack instead of Allura’s, dousing Shiro in his scent as often as possible, even going as far as to worm his way in between their communal cuddle piles to steal Shiro away. 

“It’s how things are with lady wolves.” Hunk shrugs. “Just ‘cause you’re a guy doesn’t make that any different.” 

“That’s not what I—” Shiro sighs, shoulders drooping in defeat. “You know what? You’re right: _none_ of this is weird.” 

“I’m so glad you agree,” Sendak deadpans. “Does this mean you will stop bringing up the fact that you will be giving birth to our litter while shifted every five hours?” 

“Shush.” Shiro presses his finger to Sendak’s mouth. “You don’t have room to talk. You put these pups in me, so pay up.” 

“Mm, indeed I did,” he says lowly, a dark look entering his eye. The hand around Shiro’s waist dips down, following the curve of his ass.  

“Can you two not do that?” Hunk says, without looking. “I’d like my lunch to stay in my stomach, thanks.” 

“Then I’ll take you elsewhere.” Sendak drags his fingers along his arm, and Shiro is powerless to resist. 

* * *

The bigger that Shiro gets, the more entranced Sendak becomes. 

He drags Shiro away at any and all hours to stake his claim, sometimes doing so when Shiro’s just woken up. 

“You smell delightful,” he’d murmur, parting Shiro’s legs with his bulky thigh. 

“Breakfast,” Shiro whines, tilting his head away from Sendak’s inquisitive mouth.

“How about I eat you instead?”

“Mm,” Shiro hums, neither a protest nor acquiescence, but after a few minutes spent kissing Sendak, he usually gets convinced. 

Not only is Sendak obsessed with Shiro, but he’s also excited about the litter of pups—more than Shiro thought he would be.

The week Sendak had been gone, not only had Sendak been away arranging to move his things into their pack house as a show of solidarity, but he had also bought a _ridiculous_ amount of baby supplies. 

Sendak may not know much about pup-rearing, but he has a paycheck, and a savings account, if the sheer number of toys he had bought had anything to say about it. 

“You bought too many pacifiers,” Shiro mutters, picking up one of the items in question. There are a dozen in this box alone. “How are they ever going to use them all?” 

“You neglect to remember that they are wolf pups. They will find a way.” 

“Is that what you were like?” Shiro asked, setting it down to look back at Sendak. He shrugs and glances away, as he often does when Shiro inquires into his past, but since coming together, he has become more open. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s better than it was before. 

“I was a rambunctious child, yes,” Sendak answers at length. “I didn’t like listening to my parents.” 

“I think that speaks for most kids.” Shiro lays his hand over his belly, closing his eyes in sudden realization. “God help me, we’re having five of them. _Fuck._ ”

“We will need to curb your swearing habit. Think of the children,” Sendak teases, coming up to his side. He places his hand over Shiro’s and then gently guides him to sit down in their nest, rubbing his hand up and down his shoulder comfortingly. 

“Five pups,” Shiro says, keeping his voice low. He traces the lines of Sendak’s hand with his fingertips, incapable of staving off the grin tugging at his mouth. “ _Five._ I’m so screwed.”

“They start out small,” Sendak says, repeating the same assurances that his doctor had. He pushes Shiro into the sheets, body angled so that he isn’t pressing too hard into Shiro’s full belly. The pups may be small, but five of them take up room, and Shiro’s starting to balloon out already. 

“For your sake, I hope they do.” 

“For my sake?” 

“If I have to give birth to _five_ kids and they’re bigger than,” he pauses to think, “a golfball _,_ I’m not going to be happy.” 

Sendak stares at him. He blinks. 

“Perhaps you should raise the bar to an apple,” he suggests. “Keep your expectations low.”

Shiro chuckles, turning over, on his side and away from Sendak so he can curl up and keep the pressure off his bladder. 

“I hate you, you know that?”

Sendak nuzzles at the back of his neck. “I hope not. It would make protecting you more of a challenge.” 

Shiro scoffs. “Protecting me? I don’t think I need your protection. I’ve got you _and_ pack. And myself, obviously.” 

Sendak hums, but says nothing. 

Shiro doesn’t understand what he meant until months later, a few weeks before the pups are born and he needs to commit to his final shift. 

“We’ll be here the whole time,” Allura assures him. “You may feel out of sorts, but rest assured you will not come to harm.” 

Trying not to roll his eyes at her concern, Shiro moves into the center of the room—where pillows and blankets from his pack have been laid out—and starts to shift. 

It’s much more painful than his other shifts. His body protests, creaking and groaning the way it did when he first shifted. He can tell it’s not a pretty or elegant shift, like Allura’s or even Keith’s. Every crack of bone hurts, and once it’s over, Shiro lies against the floor, whimpering from a lingering discomfort and pain.

The pups feel heavier in his belly like this. He lies on his side, slumping into the blankets, and the others shift around him. Their scents linger in his nose. Shiro struggles to get up and move, and when he does, there’s movement out of the corner of his eye, nearing his flank. 

Instinct drives Shiro to snap his teeth at them, growling. The wolf—Hunk—withdraws, and then Shiro sits back down on his haunches and stares at his pack, feeling suddenly out of sorts. Normally, he wants to be close with them immediately, exchanging scents. 

But now it's different. Now, he can't stand the thought of them touching him. He wants them close, he does, but he needs to protect his cubs. He needs—

As if sensing his thoughts, Sendak steps forward. He seems even bigger than Shiro recalls. At his side, Allura pads up to him, shifted just like they all have, and nuzzles the side of Shiro’s face. Despite his unease, he’s not stupid enough even now to think about defying her in any way. He lays his head down and waits, allowing her to scent and rub herself across his side, painting him with her scent. 

Then she barks, head tilted towards Sendak, who’s shifting from foot to foot, anxiously waiting, impatient. 

He’s still not technically a part of their pack. Shiro doesn’t know _what_ he is, only that he needs him. Allura steps aside, giving him room, and Sendak doesn’t hesitate for even a moment; at first, he walks around Shiro, circling him. Then he settles at his side opposite to the paladins.

Sendak scents him for a good while, snuffling and chuffing, overwhelming Shiro in his presence. After Sendak noses the swell of his belly, Shiro rolls onto his back, exposing himself for Sendak to continue with his exploration, which he does so happily, nearly climbing over Shiro to do so. 

It’s completely submissive, an outward show displayed directly in front of his alpha. He’s aware that doing so in front of Allura could be a death sentence, but when he glances at her, she doesn’t look as upset as Shiro expects.

He looks at the rest of his pack. The others watch with varying degrees of shifted eye-rolling and huffing, but there's no distaste. He realizes belatedly that they all shifted with him, probably for the purpose of making him feel more at comfort. 

He barks in their direction, and one by one they slowly move inward. Pidge sits near his head. Keith plops down at his died, paws near his stomach. Lance takes the spot just in front of him, with Hunk following close. 

By the time they’ve all settled, it’s a proper pile. They don’t often do this as wolves, but Shiro appreciates the gesture for what it is. 

He lays his head on his paws and sighs, relaxing into Sendak. He feels warm and safe. He knows things are going to be okay. 

* * *

Being a full-time wolf comes with a few consequences. 

For one, it sucks to be stuck as a wolf when everyone else is human. The only comforting thing about it is that they understand and respect his boundaries. They don’t treat him like a pet, or try to touch him in ways that would upset him. Shiro is left alone for the most part, only sought after when he’s been missing for too long. 

Sendak is usually the one to suss out his scent. Shiro permits him to stroke his fur and scratch behind his ears, using his claw-like fingers to dig in. Sometimes they’ll lie on the bed for hours, with Sendak stroking his fur, continuing even after Shiro has long fallen asleep.

The pups are more active when he’s a wolf. He isn’t sure why, only that it’s much easier to feel their constant tumbling and turning. 

“The litter is healthy,” Sendak says to him one evening, after Shiro has made it clear that Sendak is not allowed to touch him or he’ll lose a hand. “Surely that makes you feel happy? They’re growing so strong.” 

_Strong enough to kick the living daylights of me every single night._

Shiro growls at Sendak when he tries to touch his stomach. He’s _done_ suffering for the sake of Sendak’s fascination. 

With effort, Shiro slips off the bed and onto the floor. Then he walks out the doorway and into the living room, trying to make space even knowing that Sendak will follow him. It takes longer than usual, sure, but eventually Sendak makes his way there, sitting across from Shiro on the loveseat, wearing an expression of utter innocence. 

Shiro huffs at him. He scoots further back into the couch and closes his eyes. 

At first it was difficult for him to find and separate the aspects of himself that he considered human and wolf. But as time went on, it got easier. He stopped feeling so spooked around his own pack and being around Sendak didn’t make him feel completely overwhelmed. 

Now, he’s mostly annoyed. 

“Would you like me to rub your stomach?” Sendak asks, using the tone he reserves for when Shiro is feeling particularly snippy. 

Shiro glares at him, and Sendak lapses into silence. After about a minute, he stands and walks over. Shiro continues to glare the best glare a wolf can, but he doesn’t resist the hands that press into his belly.

His wolf doesn’t enjoy anyone touching his belly, but the human part is what appreciates it, enjoying the pressure more than it unsettles him. 

All things considered, it’s nice to know that no matter what happens, he has people watching over him. His pack. Sendak. 

“Have you been drinking enough water?” says a voice from above. It’s Pidge, leaning over the edge of the couch to look at Shiro. “Your bowl is full.”

 _You know, I’m really tired of drinking out of a bowl like a dog,_ he wants to say. Instead, he growls. 

“You should drink more water,” Sendak adds helpfully. 

Shiro knows it’s a losing battle, but it’s one he pretends to fight, ignoring them even as the two of them look at him disapprovingly.

He resigns himself to his fate when Keith walks into the room, water bowl in hand. 

* * *

The day he gives birth, most of his pack isn’t at the house. 

It’s hilarious, really, how these situations tended to play out. Just that morning, Shiro had insisted that they leave and get out of the house through a series of complicated gestures only a werewolf could pull off, and not even an hour later after they’d gone, his water broke. 

That was what really clued him in. That, and that fact that he couldn’t stop pacing the room and moving the blankets around their nest. Sendak had refused to leave the house (in retrospect, a good decision), but since everyone else had elected to leave, there was only one other person around. 

“You’re kidding me,” Lance says, the moment Sendak relays that he should prepare towels and a water should any issues arise. “He’s not doing it now, right? It is _not_ happening right now.” 

“Towels,” Sendak says without inflection, ignoring the panicked look Lance gives him. 

“I haven’t trained for this! Hunk was doing all the worrying _for_ me. Holy crow, I need—I gotta call ‘em!” 

Shiro watches Sendak grab his shoulder. He misses the expression on Sendak’s face, but whatever he conveys, it gets through to Lance. Looking slightly less manic, Lance draws back, brushing his hand across his shoulder before he leaves to fetch towels. 

“How do you feel?” Sendak asks Shiro, turning around to sit next to him. Shiro doesn’t bother to answer that it feels like he’s about to try and push five pups out of his body, and a few moments later he noses Sendak off of the bed to give himself more room to circle and pace. 

At the first press of the pup low in his belly, eager to be out in the world, he whines. 

Sendak stands at his side, watching with wide, inquisitive eyes and nearly vibrating with excitement. He’s more eager than Shiro, attempting to help even when Shiro swipes his paw at him. 

Thankfully, he’s mostly left alone. He knows what to do, and it doesn’t take long for the first to pop out, then the second, and then the third. 

They’re tiny. So, so, tiny. Squirming, ridiculous pups, and if it weren’t for the humanity in their eyes, he wouldn’t even know they’re supposed to be werewolves.

Sendak makes a low sound as Shiro starts licking and snuffling at the first one. It’s only when Shiro gets a good look at his face that he realizes it’s part heart-shattering love and part amazement. 

“Holy shit,” Lance croaks, catching their attention. “That was disgusting—” Sendak growls, and Lance starts waving his hands, “—I mean, so awesome! That was really awesome, watching my pack-mate give birth. Yeeep. Love it.” 

Shiro huffs a laugh into one of the pups. He licks her clean, turning her this way and that to ensure there’s nothing blocking her airways. From what he can tell, there are at least two girls. The others are still coming. 

“Two more,” Sendak murmurs over top his head. He presses his mouth to Shiro’s cheek. His claws are peeking out of his fingers; likely he wants to shift, but he’s waiting for the right moment. 

Shiro goes back working on the pups and pushing the last two out of him.

Although Sendak calls the pack and they assure them that they are hurrying home, they don’t make it until Shiro is pushing the last pup out of his body. By then he’s a mixture of tired and keyed up, incapable of keeping his eyes open, but also incapable of taking his eyes off his pack.

His pups don’t smell like pack yet. They smell like him, and they smell fresh, and Shiro can’t handle the thought of anyone touching them. 

Sendak clearly feels the same. The moment Hunk steps into the room, Sendak, who’s since shifted and has been prowling the space in front of Shiro, pausing periodically to nose at the pups, turns and growls so deeply that Hunk backs away with his hands raised. 

“Whoa. It’s okay, big guy. We just wanna take a look at the puppies. Okay?” 

Sendak’s next growl is even louder. 

“Okay. That’s a no then.” Hunk glances at Allura. “Uhh.” 

Shifting seems like it would be a good option to help resolve the tension, but Shiro is tired, and the pups have just begun nursing (something that would be a lot more difficult with only two nipples), so instead he closes his eyes and sighs, letting the tension he’d carried since the birth had begun slowly seep out.

Sendak’s scent helps. Shiro drinks it in; he drinks in the way Sendak rubs his snout against the babes, licking at their tiny bodies. Shiro’s sure that if he picked them up, they’d fit in the palm of his hand. 

“Give them space,” Allura says, at the continued silence. “I’m certain I would feel the same with newborns.” Her eyes twinkle mischievously. “I often do, with all of you around.”

“I think I’ve been traumatized enough for one night,” Lance pseudo-grumbles; his eyes keep straying to the pups, and Shiro can read the energy held beneath his stiff limbs. 

 _Later,_ he thinks, already drifting off. 

* * *

Shiro wakes up with a mouthful of fur and five hungry pups gnawing at his nipples.

He shakes himself awake and sits up, dislodging the two that have latched on. A quick look behind him assures that Sendak is still there, waking up now that Shiro has moved, and that he can rest easy. They’re safe.

Shiro gently guides the pups back with his nose, and soon enough they’re back to suckling, their whines and yips tugging at Shiro’s very fragile heartstrings.

 _I love you,_ he thinks. _I love you all so much._

One litter. Five pups. Two girls, three boys.

Shiro can’t really understand the significance until he’s human again, when the pups are napping. Sendak sits next to him while he reorients himself to being human, watching the pups and then Shiro in turn.

Shiro returns his gaze while he gets dressed, unable to keep the grin off his face. It’s strange; he hasn’t spoken in weeks now, and he can feel a thousand words bubbling up his throat, but when Sendak reaches out and picks up one of the pups in his hand, Shiro finds himself speechless.

Then the world rights itself, and the words slip out of his mouth.

“Thank you.”

Sendak looks at him.

“Thank you,” Shiro repeats, a new kind of energy building under his skin. As if sensing this, Sendak puts the pup back in place and steps away from the bed. The moment he does, Shiro throws himself at him, burying his face in Sendak’s hairy chest.

“Thank you,” he says, closer to a sob this time. “Thank you, thank you. They’re so beautiful. I love you.”

He feels Sendak grow tense. It’s first time either of them have said it.

“I did very little other than help conceive them,” he says at length. His fingers seek out Shiro’s cropped hair, curling through the strands. He inhales, breathing in Shiro’s scent, and his words come out shaky. “I love you, too, Shiro. If I had a pack, you would be my first.”

“Aren’t I already?” Shiro teases, but there’s a seed of truth in it. He doesn’t feel like a part of his own pack sometimes, but he also doesn’t feel like a part of Sendak’s. “My nipples hurt.”

“Just the two?”

It’s Sendak’s turn to tease. Shiro smiles, pulling back to look at their pups.

“They’re so tiny. And they look like…” _like puppies._ He doesn’t want to say it, so instead he scoops them up one by one and cradles them in his lap. One of the girls—he’s thinking Nalia—nuzzles his stomach, her lips parting, hungry for food.

She whines. Shiro feels his chest ache.

“There’s no way I can feed them all as a human.”

“Then do it while shifted,” Sendak suggests.

Shiro ends up following his advice, shifting and curling around his litter, nosing and huffing at them until they find their way. It’s much easier with eight nipples, and it still feels so _good_ to shift.

After he’s done, they finally move into the living room with the intention of introducing their pack to the full litter.

They’re all hanging out in the living room, acting if they haven’t been listening to Sendak and Shiro for last hour when they discussed introducing the pups. Shiro decided on holding onto two of them, while Sendak took the other three.

“Hi,” Shiro says shyly, approaching with a cautious smile on his face. Sendak strides past him and sits down on the couch, bringing the pups to the center of attention while still holding them protectively in his arms.

Shiro slides carefully next to him. The pups haven’t been swaddled, as is protocol with werewolves until they shift back into human form, and there’s something off-putting about it.

“Wow,” Pidge breathes. She leans forward, bracing her hands on her knees. “They’re so cute! And so tiny!”

“Those are proper pups,” Allura remarks. She walks in front of Shiro and reaches out. “May I?”

Sendak growls. Shiro flashes her a smile.

“Of course,” he says, passing them along.

Allura takes them in her arms and steps back, a look of adoration of her face. Sendak may be territorial, but Shiro isn’t worried. Allura will love them like her own, and with five of them, Shiro’s going to need all the co-parenting help he can get.

“Such beautiful pups. Their coats look lovely. And their eyes…”

Shiro looks over at one of the pups in Sendak’s arms. Her eyes are open, staring unseeingly at Shiro. She yips. Her coat paints her like a miniature version of Sendak, a dark grey instead of the near black that makes up Sendak’s wolf.

“Why don’t any of them have white hair?” Lance asks.

“Shiro only has white hair because of the whole ‘turning into a werewolf’ thing,” Keith says. “Of course they’re gonna be dark.” His lips curl into a smile Keith. “And cute.”  

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

Shiro fingers the tuft of white hair hanging down, and then looks at the pups. Some of them have slightly lighter colored fur, but on the whole they look very dark.

“They’re beautiful,” Allura repeats, and this time she’s looking at Sendak. They gaze at each other, exchanging unspoken words. At length, Allura returns the pups into Shiro’s arms and then steps back.

“Shiro,” she says calmly, completely at odds with her next words. “I want you to leave the pack.”

It’s like someone has dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. He freezes him in place.

 _“What?”_ Keith shrieks. “You’re not—no!”

“I am,” she says, holding Shiro’s gaze. “But you knew this was coming, didn’t you?” Her eyes shift to Sendak. “You knew from day one he would not stay a part of our pack.”

Sendak’s jaw is tight when he speaks. “I made no plans to steal away your beta.”

“And yet you have,” she replies. Her tone implies a careful detachment, but her eyes shift from Sendak to Shiro, her mouth turning down. “It’s clear he has found a home with you. But know that I am not simply saying so to be rid of you. Shiro is leaving our pack, but your pack is _joining_ ours, though not in the traditional sense.”

“Wait…” Hunk trails off. “What?”

Allura explains how it could work. In short, Shiro will become a part of his pack, and they will share the same space and house, should he desire it.

“Or you may find your own place. I highly suggest staying here; our resources are numerous and we own the largest land for miles. Plus,” she adds, smiling, “I would miss you if you left.”

“This is a lot to take in,” Shiro replies. He looks down at his lap, at the pups. He thinks of his new life, and how things are going to change; how they’re already changing.

“He doesn’t need to leave, Keith insists. “Shiro is fine with us.”

“Yeah! Why would Shiro leave?” Lance pouts. “I don’t want him to leave.”

“No, Keith, Lance, I…I think she’s right. I haven’t been honest with you all.”

“But I would have known if you lied,” Hunk points out. “We all would’ve, obviously.”

“I know. What I mean is—I’ve been feeling torn about this whole…thing. Pack. How I fit in it. It’s confusing, being a turned wolf. Sometimes it feels like I don’t belong, and other times…” He takes in a short breath. “Sendak made that worse. Or, better. I love being with him, just like I love being with you, but I know that Sendak’s not interested in joining our pack.”

Sendak tenses, saying nothing, but Shiro can read the relief in his eyes.

“I don’t dislike your pack,” he says gruffly.

“I know,” Allura replies. “But you would never respect me as your alpha, even if you were to be integrated, and Shiro would only be hurt trying to balance both our packs. This offers the best solution I can think of.”

“Shiro,” Keith says, sounding heartbroken. “You can’t leave.”

“I’m not leaving,” Shiro says, meeting Keith’s eyes, knowing his heart beats strong and uninterrupted. “Things are changing, but I would never leave for good. I love you, and even if I moved somewhere else, I wouldn’t stop coming back. Besides,” he smiles, and he’s surprised to find that it feels genuine, “maybe two packs defending this city are better than one.”

Keith crosses his arms, looking fit to bursting with things to say, but he only nods. That’s a conversation for another day, when his pups aren’t squirming in his arms, begging to be fed.

“They’ll shift in a few days, I suspect,” Allura says, observing the one kneading Shiro’s belly. “Their wolves are all they know at this moment, but their human side will soon take over.”

“I hope so,” Shiro says. “It’s a little weird to think I gave birth to a bunch of puppies.”

“They are healthy, strong pups. They will shift by this afternoon,” Sendak declares. Beside him, Pidge rolls her eyes.

“No wolves ever shift _that_ early. I say give it a week. Shiro’s not natural born.”

“You will see,” Sendak replies, stroking one of the male pup’s back’s slowly. He chirps, leaning into his touch. “This afternoon.”

By the end of the afternoon, none of the pups have shifted. Sendak doesn’t seem too upset about it, and what happened later that evening absolves him of any hesitancy anyone might have had about their ability to shift.

Shiro is rinsing the pups in a shallow basin of warm water when one of them starts to tremble. He picks up the yet unnamed girl—naming them is a task he doesn’t feel up to just yet—and when he brings her into his arms, he’s holding a human baby girl.

Shiro stares. She stares back. Her mouth stretches into a toothless grin.

Suddenly, the room is full of the sounds of children. A few of them immediately start crying, and that’s when Shiro panics.

“Sendak!” he shouts, staring at all five of his children. Seeing them all sitting there, almost entirely human, reality is starting to hit how hard it’s going to be to deal with five _werewolf pups._

 _Oh god,_ he thinks, squeezing his eyes shut. He opens them less than a second later, incapable of looking away.

Sendak comes running in, claws bared and at the ready, and when he finds Shiro standing there, holding a wet, naked baby with a look of abject fear on his face, he starts laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always struggle with the fluffier side of things, mostly because I don't know...where to take it? This wasn't that long and maybe a bit rushed but I hope you enjoyed it regardless as it was a lot of fun for me! ALSO none of this was beta'd so if there's a severe drop in quality you can blame me cuz she wasn't there to whip it into shape ahah


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